You Won't Know Me
by lauraxin
Summary: Lisanna has come back from Edolas, and everyone is happy to see her-except the newcomers, who feel a little left out. When Lucy tries and fails to complete a job by herself that she had wanted to use to prove that she is strong, she decides to take a leave from Fairy Tail to get stronger. This takes place right after the Edolas arc.
1. Chapter 1

**Typical "Lisanna comes and Lucy leaves to get stronger" story. Hints of Nalu. Don't like it, don't read it. ;) This is supposed to be right after the Edolas arc, so Lucy still shouldn't have Capricorn yet. I'm a lot farther ahead though, so sorry if I forget that. .**

* * *

"Natsu! Happy!" Lucy called cheerfully, running over as she waved a flyer for a job. "Let's do this job! I still have to pay my rent!" She slowed down. "Natsu?"

Natsu sat at the table with his usual bright grin. Lisanna sat in Lucy's normal seat. "Heyyyyy," Lucy said, giving Lisanna a playful shove, "That's my usual seat."

"Ah, I'm sorry Lucy-san! This was my seat before I left when I wasn't helping onee-chan with the bar," Lisanna apologized as Lucy frowned a little.

"Ugh, are the parties still going?" Gajeel said grumpily, struggling to get streamers and confetti out of his hair. "It's been weeks. Shouldn't we be going on jobs by now? Fairy Tail will go bankrupt."

"Come on, Lisanna just came back!" Natsu protested. "You guys didn't know her, but she was important to the rest of us." He put his arm around Lisanna's shoulder.

Gajeel rolled his eyes coldly. "If no one's going out to earn some money, I am," he said, then headed to the board with his hands in his pockets. Just as he ripped one off and started to walk out the door, rain started pouring down. "Juvia! What's that for!" he scolded.

"Juvia feels lonely," she looked down and swung her feet back and forth.

"I feel a little bit awkward too," Wendy admitted. "I'm sure it's wonderful for everyone that Lisanna-san is back, but truthfully I feel a little bit left out. She won't even acknowledge our existence."

"Which is why," Gajeel smirked and held out the job request, "We can go do this."

"Ehhh? A travelling circus?" Wendy said.

"Juvia thinks it seems exciting!" Juvia exclaimed.

"It's not dangerous," Charle nodded.

"And I'm sure the circus master will be happy to have us exceeds as well," Pantherlily said.

"Even better, it's for 2 months, so by the time we get back the parties should be over. So, how about it?" Gajeel asked.

"Juvia wants to come!" Juvia exclaimed eagerly.

"I suppose we will accompany you," Charle said as Wendy smiled next to her.

"What about you, blondie?" Gajeel turned to Lucy.

"There's another mission I want to go on with Natsu, otherwise I'd come. Thanks though," she declined politely.

"With the flame-brain?" Gajeel scoffed. "Go with him after he wakes up, because he's been rejecting you for the past few weeks. Good luck with that."

"Um, see you, Lucy-san," Wendy waved.

"Bye-bye!" Juvia said.

"Bye!" Lucy waved cheerfully, then stopped to stare at their figures getting smaller. What did Gajeel mean by that? she pondered. "Well," she said to Plue, "Natsu is busy, so let's go for an easy job today."

"Pun!"

* * *

"Ah!" Lucy collapsed onto a her bed. "I was wondering why they offered a whole 40,000 jewel just to babysit a bunch of kids. They didn't mention those kids were rowdy and annoying and that they were training to be mages!"

"Pun!"

"You're no help, Plue," Lucy sighed. She tugged on a new shirt, throwing out her old one which had been partially burned by one of the fire mages. "Well, it's still the afternoon. I'll go visit the guild. I wonder if they'll talk to me today."

"Pun!"

"Whatever," Lucy rolled her eyes. "Let's go!"

As Lucy and Plue approached the guild, Lucy heard a voice inside say, "Who's Lucy?" Lucy peered through a window to see. It was Lisanna.

"Oh Lucy? She's the celestial mage with blond hair. She's my best friend," Natsu grinned.

"I see," Lisanna frowned. Then she looked up at him with sad eyes. "I thought I was your best friend," she said softly, fidgeting a little.

"Lisanna?" Natsu said, surprised, "Don't worry," he reassured her. "No one cares for you any less."

Lisanna still kept a sad face. Then out of nowhere, she said, "The blonde celestial mage? I hope we can get along. But I heard that she's really weak. I thought you wanted a strong team."

"Lucy isn't weak," Natsu punched the table. "Oh, sorry," he said quickly when he saw Lisanna's shocked face. "I just hate when people say that, because Lucy is not weak."

"I'm sorry Natsu," Lisanna was quick to apologize, "But don't you always have to rescue her?"

Natsu paused for a second, and Lucy felt her heart sink. "Well Lucy is getting stronger," he said, but with a hint of hesitation. "Speaking of which, where is Lucy? Her scent is still here." He looked around the room.

Lucy flinched. Had he not noticed that she had been gone the whole day? As he seemed to sense her presence and headed towards the window, she quickly ducked and ran off, dismissing Plue.

* * *

Lucy stared at the job she had taken from the request board. "Can I do this without Natsu," she sighed, leaning back on her chair. She looked over her shoulder at Natsu with Lisanna, who was sitting in Lucy's usual seat again. "I should've went with Gajeel and the others," she sighed again, "This place is too lonely for once."

Virgo suddenly appeared beside her. "You requested my company, hime?" she bowed.

"Uh, no I didn't."

"Then-punishment, hime?"

"No no," Lucy rolled her eyes. "Stay. At least someone here will know I exist then."

"What about Levy, hime?"

"Levy-chan was close to Lisanna too," Lucy replied. "I was just Levy's replacement best friend, considering she hasn't acknowledged me for the past two weeks."

"Now, don't say that," Loke appeared as well. "Shall we just take an easier job today?"

"Sure," said Lucy. "I need to pay my rent." But as soon as she stepped out the door preparing to help an old lady mage move her belongings, Lisanna's voice was there again.

"Erza-san, what do you think of Lucy-san?" Lisanna asked.

"Well, she's very loyal and brave. Why bring that up now?"

"I was just thinking that she seems to weak to be on a team with strong mages like you, Natsu, and Gray. Wouldn't you get jobs done faster with a stronger mage?"

"Well you have point." Erza said, causing Lucy to wince. "She's not terribly strong when it comes to fighting. Definitely not good enough to be S-class."

"Let's go, hime." Virgo said, leading a frozen Lucy away.

"But," Erza said just as they left, "Lucy is smart, and a valuable member on our team. She's helped us out of many sticky situations."

"Actually, I haven't seen Lucy much lately. Has she been going on missions alone?" Gray said, crossing his arms.

"Gray, your clothes," Cana said from the side.

"Ah! He ran off."

"She's probably just annoyed because we never end up getting the full reward," Natsu guesses.

Erza glared at him. "We would get the full reward if you wouldn't keep DESTROYING EVERYTHING!" she shouted.

"Aye sir," he said meekly.

"But we can't to as many things without her," Erza thought out loud. "She always manages to secure everything for us."

"I can replace her! If that's okay with you, I mean," Lisanna piped up suddenly. "I'd like to do a job with all of you. It's been so long! I'm sure I can be just as helpful as Lucy-san, and since I was with all of you for so long I know more of your habits when it comes to fighting."

"Very well, Lisanna," Erza said. "Let's do a job!"

"Lucy-san will be able to improve as a mage if she goes on solo missions as well," Lisanna continued.

* * *

"Don't fall in the water!" the men called out from the boat.

"I know!" Lucy shouted back. "Anyway, you know what I mean, Plue?"

"Pun?"

"It's not that I'm not happy that Lisanna is back. Everyone looks so happy. But I've barely been able to talk to them, especially Natsu, and Erza even called me weak. Lisanna thought I was a hindrance. It's lonely in the guild for once, you know?"

"Pun!"

"Well, whatever," Lucy sighed. "I'll ask Natsu again tomorrow before that job is taken by a mage from another guild."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! There's more chapters to come. If you like it, please leave a review! Or if you don't like it (or see a mistake), please review a review anyway so I can improve my writing. Thank you! :3**


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy leaned against the wall in the same position as she did the day before. _You're such a coward Lucy,_ she scolded herself. _Wait, what are you so afraid of? You're just walking into the guild._

She knew herself what she was afraid of, because she sucked in a breath when she heard Lisanna's voice. "Elf-niichan, what do you think of Lucy-san?" Her voice was so sickeningly sweet in Lucy's ears.

"Lucy? Oh, the blonde," Elfman said. Lucy sighed. I_s that all I am now? The blonde celestial mage?_ "Well to be honest," Elfman continued, "Her celestial spirits do everything, so she's not as much of a man as you and onee-chan are. It's good to have you back."

"Ah," Lucy sighed, "I was right. Even Cana and Levy said I was similar to Lisanna." She slumped back against the wall. "Am I a replacement or something? I want to get along with her but..." Lucy peered through the window, "She seems so nice to everyone except for when the topic turns to me."

She stood there staring for a bit until she realized Natsu and Happy had come in. "Natsu!" she exclaimed. She went around to the front of the guild just as the door was closing. Her hand hesitated on the doorknob. "Geez, what are you afraid of?" she muttered to herself as she threw open the door.

"Oh hey Lucy," Natsu waved, but Lucy stopped there at the door. When did he stop calling me Luce? "Is something wrong?" he asked when she stopped.

"No, nothing," Lucy said with mock cheerfulness. "Natsu, do you want to come with me on a job?" she held out the job request.

He took a quick look at it. "Oh sorry Lucy, I'm going on a job with Lisanna and the others starting this afternoon. Speaking of that, do you mind if we take you out of Team Natsu temporarily?"

"Eh?" Lucy's eyes widened.

"Ahhh don't worry it's not permanent," Natsu reassured her. "It's just that we haven't been with Lisanna for a long time and the others think it would be a good chance for you to get stronger."

Lucy stayed silent. She just stared at him. "Um..."

"Oh but I don't think you're weak at all. It wasn't my decision really. Lisanna just wants to spend some time with us alone. If you don't want to leave the team it's ok I can come with you and let them go by themselv-"

"No, it's ok Natsu. Don't worry about it." Lucy faked a huge smile. She had been too upset to hear the last part of his statement. "I'm sure you missed Lisanna after all. Go have fun! I'm going to be doing a different job anyway."

"Oh ok, thanks Lucy. We'll be back soon. Don't get hurt while we're gone." Natsu grinned then walked away. Lucy stared after him, hands crumpling the job request she had taken before.

"Hey there Lu-chan!" Levy hopped over.

"Levy!" Lucy said happily. "Levy do you want to do a job with me?"

"Ah, gomen, Lu-chan. I'm taking Lisanna around this morning to show her what changed around here before they go on a job for the afternoon."

"Oh, ok," Lucy said dejectedly. She walked over to a random table and sat down. "Eh? Where's Mira-san today?"

"She's going with Levy-chan and Lisanna," Jet replied. "How I wish I could go!"

"Oh," Lucy sighed. "Plue," she turned to look at the nicola, "You can go back now."

"...Pun..." he tilted his head, then rather reluctantly disappeared. Lucy sighed yet again, her face in her hands.

"Feeling lonely?" a sudden voice said from the chair next to her.

"Master!" Lucy exclaimed, turning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"Relaxing," he said, then opened his eyes. "And observing you."

"...Observing me?!"

"Don't worry," the master laughed. "Not in that way. Unless you want me to." He raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah, no thanks," Lucy leaned away. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

"You look lonely," he repeated.

Lucy thought about it for a moment. "Is it that obvious?...Well, yeah," she sighed. "You could say that I guess. I should have gone with Wendy and the others on that request for a circus."

"Then why not do that job you have here?" Makarov pointed at the crumpled wad of paper Lucy had been tossing around for the past few minutes.

"Oh this?" She flattened it out to stare at it. "I think it's too hard for me to do by myself."

"Really?" Makarov took a look at it.

A sudden thought coursed through her head that horrified her. "No," she shook her head and muttered to herself. "I can't do that."

"Hm? Do what?" Makarov asked, confused.

"For a second there, I thought it might be better if I left Fairy Tail for a bit."

"What?! Child you can't leave us like that. You are part of our family!"

"Doesn't seem like it," Lucy slumped against the table. "If you think about it, it's not a bad idea. I have my spirits to keep me company, more spirits than before. I can be an independent mage like I was in the past. And maybe I can get stronge-"

"Lucy!" Makarov exclaimed, suddenly growing bigger and more intimidating. "What about your nakama here at Fairy Tail? Will you abandon them like that?"

"Well they've been ignoring me." The two stopped and stared at each other for a bit.

Makarov shrank down to his normal size. "Yeah," he said, sounding very disappointed. "That I noticed. But still..."

"Can I? Master?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'll scold Natsu and the others. They're right there. You'll stay if I tell them to remember you're there right?"

Lucy sighed for the hundredth time. "But that's not me. That wouldn't be me working hard to get them to notice me. I'd just be depending on someone else the way I always do. The way they criticized me for."

"Lucy..."

"Master," Lucy turned to him with a determined stare. "I'm going to do this job. By myself. If I can do it, I'll stay at Fairy Tail. I'll talk the others and make them remember I'm here. But if I don't," she looked down. "Will you remove my guild mark?"

He looked at her determined stare and her fist clenched around her keys. "It's always sad to lose a child from our precious family. But Lucy, I respect your decision," Makarov stated sadly.

* * *

"I still can't believe it," Loke sighed with his hands on his forehead.

"Sorry Loke," Lucy apologized for the millionth time. "I know Fairy Tail is your home too. You can stay if you want."

"No," Loke refused immediately. "This way I will get to spend more precious time with you, Lucy." If she wasn't so upset she would've rolled her eyes. "In all seriousness," Loke continued firmly. "Us celestial spirits must stay loyal to our masters. And even if that wasn't required, I would still stay by your side."

"Loke..." Lucy smiled.

"Which is why," his eyes shone, "We should take this opportunity and get married!"

"No," she facepalmed and laughed. "You should get along with Aries more." Loke smiled worriedly.

Aries blushed a little from the side. Then she widened her eyes. "You laughed," she said quietly from the side, seeming pleased.

"Eh?"

"You laughed," she repeated. "You haven't laughed since Lisanna-san came back. You used to always laugh with Natsu-san."

Lucy looked down at the ground and smiled. "I guess I just miss him a little. Thanks guys," she turned her head upwards. "I really hope I can get this job done. And without the others, maybe I can actually get the full reward right?" she tried to reassure herself.

Aries and Loke only sighed and shook their heads. "We'll always be here for you, Lucy," Aries said as they disappeared. "Virgo is coming."

Virgo appeared kneeling in front of Lucy. "Punishment, hime?" she said as always.

"Uh...no," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "Can you help me pack?"

"Of course, hime," Virgo got up from her position on the ground. "This is the first time you've done a lot of packing."

"Yeah, usually Erza does it." Lucy thought of all the things Erza brought, then she sighed remembering that she wasn't on Team Natsu for the time being.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. Punishment-hime?" Virgo handed her her leather pouch to put her keys in.

"No no, it's not your fault," Lucy said. "Let's go do this job!"

* * *

**It sorta hints it, but there is not going to be any Lolu in this story. Just Nalu. Sorry Lolu supporters. :I**


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy groaned. "This is a lot more annoying than I thought it would be," she said. I wish this map had roads in the forest or something. Or at least a road to the main road. Who walks through a forest to get to a train anyway?! Don't you agree?"

"Pun!"

"It's supposedly a rather easy job. Find the victims, release them from whatever contraption they've caught her in, and defeat the guys who did it. But they they didn't even tell me how many people I'm up against!" She stuffed the flyer into the makeshift bag she had, now that it wasn't Erza carrying the luggage.

"Pun!"

"And I also..."

"Pun?"

Lucy sighed. "Sorry for saying this Plue," she said carefully, "But I kinda miss having a person who replies in a language I understand when I talk."

"Pun...Pun!" Plue seemed to have an idea. He disappeared with a poof.

A few seconds later, there was another poof next to Lucy. "Hihihi!"

"Lyra!" Lucy exclaimed. "You're available today?"

"I sure am!" she said happily. "Want me to sing?"

Lucy thought for a moment. She didn't really want to be reminded of her feelings. "No," she said, "I just need someone to talk to."

"Kk!" she continued, hopping around. "So you know, I bumped into Aquarius-san and Scorpio-san when they were on a date, and they asked me to play a song for them..."

Lucy smiled involuntarily. Her celestial spirits, at least, would never abandon her. Lyra talked and talked-through the forest, back on the main road, in the train, and up until they were almost at the requester's house.

"And then!" Lyra laughed, "He said...Lu-chan?"

"It seems I'm a bit lost..." Lucy said, stopping in the middle of the road, laughing a little.

"You'd better call Pyxis!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'll call for him," Lucy replied. "See you!"

"Bye bye!"

"This is so annoying!" Lucy growled as she slashed through the vines in front of her with a knife, not wanting to use up too much of her magic energy. She even had Plue go back. "He just hands me a random map and tells me to find everyone. What kind of mage would leave that kind of requester a weird map and a list of clues about where everyone is anyway?" she grumbled.

"This kind of mage," laughed a voice behind her, ready to put his hands around her throat.

Lucy whipped out her Fleuve d'étoiles and wrapped him and two other people in it. "You really shouldn't give someone your location when you're stalking them," she said. "Especially when you went through the effort of wearing those silent boots. Are those fueled by magic? I want a pair."

They glared at her, clearly annoyed by her casual manner. "Don't get so cocky," one said. "There are more on the way. We thought he might get a mage from a legal guild to help out."

"But we got lucky," another said. "It looks like there's only one. No soul mates here."

"No soul mates?" Lucy blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because only the presence of a soul mate can stop this love charm!" he whipped out something from his pocket."

"Its weakness is awareness." Lucy said, starting to get bored. "Its weakness is awareness."

"Stop trying," the last man yelled, "Boss will be here to help us soon anyway."

"Boss?" Lucy asked.

"As if we'd tell you," he snarled.

Lucy kicked him and pulled up his collar so she could talk right into his face. "You'll find out soon enough," he said.

* * *

Natsu, Lisanna, Gray, and Erza waited by the fire, impatiently waiting for Happy to finish his fish.

"The new guild members seem really nice," said Lisanna thoughtfully, leaning back against a tree. "Well, one of them seems kind of scary. Gajeel? Is that his name?"

"Oh that bastard," Natsu grinned. "Iron. He's a dragon slayer too."

"Wah, so we have more dragon slayers now."

"And Wendy," Gray added. "And," he continued with a slight sigh, remembering countless awkward moments, "Juvia. We originally fought against her and Gajeel though."

"Plus Lucy," Natsu smiled.

"Ah, that's right, Lucy-san seems like a very nice person. You mention her a lot, Natsu."

"Celestial mage," Erza said tersely, not wanting to look up from her strawberry cake. "She's got a lot of spirits."

"Lucy's real nice," Natsu grinned.

"I feel kind of bad for asking to come on a job with all of you alone," Lisanna said as she looked down at her hands, a little bit ashamed of herself. "But it's just been so long, I wanted to catch up a little first."

"It's alright, Lisanna," Gray nodded, picking up his shirt that had somehow ended up on the floor again. "I'm sure she understands."

"But," Lisanna said, "I find it kind of hard to connect with the new guild members. I think they're getting the wrong idea about me. I mean, it's not like I want to ignore them, but it's just hard for me to accept that the guild has changed so much so fast."

"It's alright," Erza replied reassuringly, "We'll introduce you to them once we get back. They're all good people."

"We just want to spend some time with you for a bit, Lisanna," Natsu smiled. "Lucy's a great person. I'm sure she'll understand. The guild just missed you. But now we can go on jobs with you just like old times."

* * *

"Stupid bandits," Lucy sighed exasperatedly, kicking sullenly at the grass. Beating them off had been easy with actual magic, they ran off even before she could call Aries, but it had still been time consuming.

At least she was finally at the requester's house.

* * *

**So obviously that very short chapter took me a long time...Still not exactly sure where this is going (I don't plan for anything .) so the next might take even longer (if that's possible). Sorry? XD**


End file.
